Little Johnnycakes
by The Writing Wizard
Summary: Johnny is five years old. He spends most of his days hiding from his parents and and hanging out with the gang, or to be more specific, Darry.
1. Chapter 1

Little Johnnycakes

I awoke to the sound of the front door being closed. That meant it was either one of the gang or one of my kid brothers snuck out and just came back. Listening closely, I picked up on Soda's soft snoring. So it wasn't Sodapop and I knew Ponyboy wouldn't go out this late. He had school and track practice tomorrow. Or, glancing at the clock, today actually. So that meant it was one of the gang.

It wasn't unusual for the gang to spend the night at our place. Actually, it was unusual if someone wasn't zonked out on the couch when I got up for work in the morning. Ever since I was younger my house had been a place for everyone to stay. My mom used to say that we were all a family despite the fact that we weren't blood related. I agree with her now but I had a hard time understanding that when I was little.

Figuring I should check on them since they often came over after a fight, I reluctantly got out of bed and walked down the hallway to the living room in time to see the small form slip of his torn shoes and hear his soft footsteps as he walked across the wooden floor and the groan of my recliner as he climbed in. He shifted as he tried to cover himself in the jean jacket the gang had "acquired" for him. Two-Bit tried convincing me they had all pitched in for it. I didn't believe him for a second.

"Johnny?" I asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and a small whimper emitted from his mouth.

"Hey, buddy. It's just me, Darry," I soothed the five year old. He was visibly shaking and I silently cursed to myself for scaring him like that.

I flipped on the light and felt my blood boil when I saw Johnny's face. He had a bruise on his left cheek and a black eye.

"Aw, kiddo," I sympathized. You had to talk real gentle to Johnny. Ever since his dad hurt him real bad a few months before he'd been quieter. Even quieter than usual. And he got real scared easily.

I opened my arms and he immediately wrapped his skinny arms around my neck and I lifted him as his legs hooked around my waist. I took him to my room and sat him on the bed. After turning on the lamp, I gently took off his jacket and removed his socks, tickling his toes, causing him to giggle. I smiled as his laugh quickly turned into a yawn.

"C'mon, kiddo. Let's get you in some pajamas, ok?" He nodded. I went to the bottom drawer in my dresser where I had some extra clothes for him. They were hand-me-downs, once belonging to Soda and Pony, some had even been mine. I picked up a pair of plaid blue pants and a big red t-shirt. Red was his favorite color at the moment. He constantly changed it. Who knows? Tomorrow it might be purple.

"Arms up." He obeyed, sticking his hands up and wiggling his fingers as I pulled his shirt over his head, leaving him only in pants. He was so freaking skinny! The kid's ribs were sticking out. I reminded myself to try and get him to eat more.

"Time for bed," I announced after he was changed.

"But, Darwy! I'm not even tired yet!" He whined, while trying (yet failing) to hide a yawn. I smiled, stifling a yawn of my own.

"Well, I'm tired, bud. It's late." He sighed but flopped down on my bed. I laid down next to him and covered us both with my blanket. I flipped the light off and wrapped my arms around the small body curled up next to me and closed my eyes.

"Darwy?"

I sighed and opened my eyes again. I knew he was tired so why was he still talking?

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Why does Dwaddy hurt me?" I tightened my grip on the little kid.

"I don't know, baby. Sometimes people aren't very nice," I said, trying to come up with an explanation a five year old could understand. But there really isn't an explanation as to why a father should hit his own child or why a mother should ignore him. Shortly before my folks had died Johnny moved in across the street. My mom had absolutely adored him at his age of three and a half but that had been over a year ago. Whenever she heard Mr. and Mrs. Cade yelling she would turn on the porch light and sit out there until she saw the small figure slip out of his bedroom window on the side of the house. Then, she would silently walk across the street, take his hand, and bring him back here.

"But you and Swoda and Two-Bit are nice! And Steve and Dwally aren't very nice but they are sometimes," he insisted.

"We all love you, baby. Steve and Dally are just too tuff to admit it." I had come to realize that calling Johnny names like "baby" or "honey" helped calm him down. At first, I was a little hesitant to say things like that. I don't know if it was because I thought I was too tuff or just because it made me think about how his parents treat him or what but now it's second nature. I know now that calling Johnny things like that made him feel like part of a real family.

I kissed his forehead and he gave me a tired smile.

"Love you, Darwy," he whispered, his voice laced with exhaustion.

"I love you too, kiddo."

"I wish you was my daddy," he mumbled, his eyes drooping. I rubbed his back and kissed his head again, soothing him to sleep.

"Me, too."

Well, how was that? I don't have a plot planned for this story so it's probably just going to be oneshots. I'll take requests and see what I can do! So leave comments :)


	2. Chapter 2

Little Johnnycakes

Chapter Two

The next morning I woke up to see Johnny sitting up next to me. He was leaning against the headboard of the bed.

"Morning, kiddo."

He jumped a little but smiled when he saw I was awake.

"Hi, Darwy." His voice was really soft, almost like a whisper, but a little louder.

"How long have you been up?" I didn't want him to be alone for long.

He shrugged. "I don't know."

"Well, why didn't you go in the living room? I'm sure Steve, Soda, or Two-Bit are out there," I told him. Ponyboy would still be sleeping. He looked forward to Saturday. He didn't like to get up before nine on weekends.

"I wanted to wait for you. And," he leaned in closer and whispered in my ear, "Two-Bit smells funny."

I chuckled. "Yeah?"

Johnny nodded. He was most likely referring to the heavy stench of beer. Two-Bit almost always had some sort of alcoholic beverage in his hand.

I raised my arms above my head and pretended to take a whiff. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think we both need to take a shower." He giggled as I started messing with his messed up black hair. His hair was so soft and long.

Johnny gave me a hopeful look.

I smiled. "Yeah, you can take a bath."

He grinned. "Bubbles?"

I laughed. "Sure, kid. I'll see if we have any." We both climbed out of bed. I grabbed him some clothes from my bottom drawer. Johnny stood next to me until we both walked out of my room. Two-Bit was passed out on the couch and Steve was sitting on the floor watching TV. He was eating some chocolate cake. Sodapop came running out of his room in his boxers and DX shirt. His DX hat sat on his head and was flipped backwards. He liked to wear it that way.

"Morning, Darry. Morning, Johnnycakes," he greeted before sitting down on Two-Bits legs and pulling his jeans on. Two-Bit didn't even stir.

Johnny waved but didn't say anything. He was back to being quiet again. I mean, he was always quiet but he seemed to be more open towards me. He was nervous around everyone else.

"Time for a bath, kiddo," I told him. Johnny darted into the bathroom. I chuckled and followed him. After shutting the door, Johnny started stripping. I helped him with his shirt. While he busied himself getting his pants off, I started the water. I made sure it wasn't too hot. He liked his baths warm but never too hot. I liked taking hot showers to help my sore muscles after a rough day at work.

"Bubbles?"

I turned around and saw Johnny standing next to me. He was naked. All his clothes were thrown in a pile.

"Let me check." I opened the cabinet underneath the sink and started moving the bottles of shaving cream around. Finally, I found a bottle of bubblebath in the back corner. I grabbed it and grinned triumphantly.

Johnny grinned again. "Can I do it?" He asked.

"Sure, kiddo. Just be careful. Not too much." I handed him the bottle and watched him as he carefully poured the liquid into the water. After a few seconds, he gave it back to me.

"Nice job," I told him before checking the tub.

"Time to get in," I said. I picked up the little boy and gently placed him in the water. He already had a few toys in there to entertain himself with. That was probably the main reason he liked baths more than showers.

I picked up a cup that I had on the side and filled in with water.

"Ready?" I asked. Johnny nodded and I watched as he squeezed his eyes shut real tight. This was his least favorite part, which is why I always did it first. That way, it'd be over with and he could enjoy the rest of his bath time. I poured the water over his head and quickly refilled it, repeating the process. When all of his hair was wet I handed him a washcloth so he could wipe his face. I grabbed the shampoo and started massaging his scalp.

"Stand up," I said after I finished washing his hair. He did and I lathered the washcloth with soap before gently washing his body. He winced as I went across a bruise on his shoulder.

"Sorry, baby."

"It's ok," he said, softly. No it wasn't. The bruise was an ugly mix between purple and blue. I hated seeing bruises and cuts on his body. He was too little for that kind of treatment. No one deserved that. Especially not Johnny.

"Time to get out, kiddo," I told him after I finished. He nodded and pulled the plug. The water began to gurgle down the drain. I wrapped him in a big towel and picked him up and set him on the toilet. He was shivering.

"We'll be quick, 'k?" He nodded. I quickly dried him and got him dressed. It wasn't long after that I heard Johnny's stomach grumble. I chuckled.

"Hungry?"

He giggled but shrugged. Once again, I wondered how long he'd been up. He followed me into the kitchen and I picked him up and set him on the counter. Looking back in the living room, I saw that Two-Bit was still sleeping and Soda and Steve were gone. They were working the morning shift at the DX.

I started to put my hands on Johnny's shoulders, but remembered the bruise, so I settled for placing both my hands on his knees.

"Listen, kiddo. You can wake me up, you know that right?" I asked Johnny. He shrugged again.

"You can wake me up whenever. If you need anything you can wake me or anyone in the gang up. Ok, baby?"

"Yeah, Darwy."

"Good." I kissed his forehead before grabbing some ice from the freezer and wrapping it in a washcloth. "Put that on your eye. It'll make it feel better." I knew it was hurting him. He never really complained about the injuries his dad caused. He just came over and I'd give him some medicine and ice or a bandage if needed.

Johnny stuck the ice on his eye.

"Ok, kid. What do you want for breakfast?"

He smiled. "Cake."

He might as well have been Johnnycake Curtis.

Okay, this chapter kinda sucked but I really wanted to write about Darry giving Johnny a bath. I don't know why, I just did. So...yeah. Anyway, please review! Let me know how I'm doing with this story so far. Also, I need some ideas. I have a few but I need some more. Thank you!


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